“Constraint inspires creativity.”

Article in New Yorker (here), 10/21/2013, about Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter:

“…He is a techno aesthete in the manner of Steve Jobs: Dorsey, too, is a college dropout, a taker of long walks, and a guy whose father liked to tinker. And, just as Jobs, with his Issey Miyake turtlenecks, tried to embody Apple’s sleek functionalism, Dorsey’s tastes are self-consciously in synch with the design of Twitter. “Constraint inspires creativity” is one of his credos.;”

About Lloyd Kahn

Lloyd Kahn started building his own home in the early '60s and went on to publish books showing homeowners how they could build their own homes with their own hands. He got his start in publishing by working as the shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog with Stewart Brand in the late '60s. He has since authored six highly-graphic books on homemade building, all of which are interrelated. The books, "The Shelter Library Of Building Books," include Shelter, Shelter II (1978), Home Work (2004), Builders of the Pacific Coast (2008), Tiny Homes (2012), and Tiny Homes on the Move (2014). Lloyd operates from Northern California studio built of recycled lumber, set in the midst of a vegetable garden, and hooked into the world via five Mac computers. You can check out videos (one with over 450,000 views) on Lloyd by doing a search on YouTube:

17 Responses to “Constraint inspires creativity.”

  1. Lloyd, I feel bad..

    re
    http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.ca/2015/07/100-pallet-floor-replaces-ugly-carpet.html#comment-form

    I did not comment in a mean spirited way, and do not think the others did either..However, I think the person has hurt feelings over the comments…Sigh…I do know how it is, you do something which took lots of planning and effort, only to have someone (or in this case several someones) point out concerns…

    I feel we have really hurt becky's feelings, but not at all sure it would be improved by adding further comments, trying to explain, or etc??

  2. Lloyd, don't know if my comment above brought my concern re becky to your attention, but I just read your comments on her floor..

    nicely done, (your comments)…As well as expressing your view/opinion,
    I suspect such well spoken comments from yourself, a serious expert, will assuage any hurt feelings. (as "if" you needed my comments on it all, but I was feeling bad when it occurred to me that someone who went to such efforts and planning had hurt feelings on it all).

  3. Hey Lloyd,
    I know you posted this house (holdout) some time back. I tried to find the posting so I could add this link, "the story of this woman", but couldn't find it. Posting it here, in case you care to add it.

    http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/searching-for-edith-macefield/

    The owner of Ballard’s ‘Up’ house, who turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars and chose to stay in her home until she died, remains a mystery.

    She became a cause célèbre, the little old lady who said no to big developers. Old Seattle vs. New Seattle. You could look at Edith’s house, boxed in by concrete and steel, and see whatever you wanted. Her story spread virally from Seattle to faraway places like London, and soon her house was everywhere, for everyone.

    And yet almost no one, not even the people she kept in close company, knew much about her

    In the “about the author” section of her self-published novel, of which there are two copies, she claimed she “served as an undercover agent during World War II”; “was captured and interned at Dachau, from which she escaped, taking 13 interned Jewish children with her”; and “married a Yorkshire man, lived in England for thirty years, where she adopted and raised 27 children.”

    Edith Macefield’s Old Ballard house has stood alone, tucked between towering new developments, since her death in 2008. Seven years later, its fate may finally be decided

  4. in case it is of interest..
    read a bit more on the above house,

    http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/future-of-ballards-up-house-remains-up-in-the-air/

    Future of Ballard’s ‘Up’ house remains up in the air

    The fate of the famous Ballard house once owned by Edith Macefield, a symbol of anti-development in Seattle, is back in limbo after the latest plan to ship the home to Orcas Island failed.

    In a statement, OPAL said the current property owner has extended the opportunity for another party to step in to make sure the house isn’t destroyed, and that the owner also wants to find a new location for the home to be renovated for a family.

  5. seems like a good idea…

    Kudos….— Sacramento Library now has "Library of Things" to loan

    http://www.trueactivist.com/intriguing-new-library-of-things-allows-you-to-check-out-more-than-just-books/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TrueActivist+%28True+Activist%29

    Patrons of the California-based library can check out everything from useful household appliances to musical instruments

    From 3D printers to bikes, the wide variety of items can be found in the Sacramento Public Library’s Arcade location.

    Reportedly, there’s even a bike-repair station to help out cyclists.

    http://www.saclibrary.org/Services/Library-of-Things/

    The Library of Things is a new service from the Sacramento Public Library that offers things for checkout

    —such as sewing machines, musical instruments and video games.

    The items in the Library of Things were chosen in a voting process

    by Sacramento Public Library patrons and funded by a Library Services and Technology Act grant administered through the California State Library.

  6. just to let you know, Lloyd,
    don't know if it is a google problem, or my interenet

    I always get to your site by typing in

    Lloyd's Blog
    and this takes me to you (don't have it in favorites for some reason).

    just now, I typed that in, several times
    and all I get to is

    http://lloydkahn.blogspot.ca/

    theoretically same, but it does not actually go anywhere, when I click on it.

    I got to you now, from another link I had..

  7. Lloyd

    guess it maybe is just computer gremlins

    just typed in

    Lloyd's Blog

    again, and this time it brought me to your site…

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